If you have a Sea-Doo accident, be careful what side of the border you land on

[PMedMoe]

Canucks rescued, then jailed

Near-drowning leads to time in U.S. pokey

Article Link

Two Toronto-area men are behind bars in a Buffalo detention centre after a dramatic rescue from the Niagara River resulted in them being charged with making an "illegal" entry into the U.S..

Jason Haist, of Scarborough, along with his cousin Edward Haist, were riding Sea-Doos up and down the river Saturday evening when they were knocked into the water after hitting strong currents near Devil's Hole State Park.

Edward washed up on the U.S. shore while Jason was pulled out of the river -- unconscious and suffering from a head injury -- by personnel on a tour boat.

The United States Coast Guard took Jason, who was wearing only a lifejacket and swim trunks, off the tour boat and transported him to Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston, N.Y., for treatment.

Catherine Kerr, Jason's live-in girlfriend, later received a shocking message: Jason was going to be jailed for making an illegal entry into the U.S.

"They're being administratively charged with failure to report on landfall in the States," said A.J. Price, a border patrol agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

More on link

Anybody else find this absolutely ridiculous??

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Anybody else find this absolutely ridiculous??

Nope, ...its policy and anyone boating/swimming on any of the Great Lake waters should know this. If all this person says is true then they will walk......

 

[PMedMoe]

Nope, ...its policy and anyone boating/swimming on any of the Great Lake waters should know this. If all this person says is true then they will walk......

I understand it's policy.  According to the article, they had permission to cross the invisible border in the water.  It was the landfall that got them arrested.  Maybe next time they'll wear a sign:

"In the event of a water rescue, please deposit me on the Canadian side of the river." 

 

[Neill McKay]

The article goes on to quote a spokesman for the US border patrol as saying that they have no discretion in this matter, so the problem appears to be a hard-and-fast rule that doesn't leave any room for the personnel on the ground to use common sense and act reasonably.

I have to wonder, though, how much time the guys had in which to report their arrival in the States before they were arrested?  Did they even have an opportunity to seek out the local customs facility before being carted off?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

..or maybe all his contraband cigs polluted the beach?

 

[Snafu-Bar]

They should have said they we're from Mexico  ;D


This qualifies for the dumbest thing i've heard today thread.

The US really knows how to kick people when they are down.  :

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

The US really knows how to kick people when they are down.  :

Give me a break....... when/if you do get in you will find yourself following orders/rules that you will find stupid, but guess what, they are arbitrary and you will follow them.

 

[xo31@711ret]

Very true Bruce...but still one of the most idiotic things I've heard; waste of money, time & (I'm bettin') lots of paperwork.

 

[Snafu-Bar]

I guess handing them over to Canadian border officials would have been too hard, and a trip to prison for an accident is more appropriate for someone at the mercy of a rescue team.  :


  Cheers.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I guess handing them over to Canadian border officials would have been too hard, and a trip to prison for an accident is more appropriate for someone at the mercy of a rescue team.  :

  Cheers.

...and of course your super duper detective skills have already cleared them of any possible wrong doings?

What part of "border protection" is too hard for you too grasp??

 

[aesop081]

I guess handing them over to Canadian border officials would have been too hard, and a trip to prison for an accident is more appropriate for someone at the mercy of a rescue team.  :


  Cheers.

Did you miss the " no discretion" part ?


Of course you did  :

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Did you miss the " no discretion" part ?

"Sir, of course I let those two nationals through the gate without checking them out, one of them was bleeding, Sir".

 

[cavalryman]

This is nothing new.  The US has hard and fast rules on crossing the border in a legal manner - individual officers don't have any leeway.  As anyone who scuba dives in the St Lawrence River will tell you, to dive wrecks on the US side of the border (which runs down the middle of the River) when your charter boat originates on the Canadian side, your have to touch land at a port of entry into the US and show your passport (or other acceptable ID) to US border officials prior to heading out the the dive site.  The same applies not only in reverse, i.e. for a US dive charter boat wanting to dive a wreck in Canadian waters, but also for a Canadian boat returning from a dive trip in US waters - i.e. you have to check through customs at the nearest Canadian port of entry.  Sounds silly? Perhaps.  But it's been on the books for a very long time, but not enforced until the last few years.

 

[Snafu-Bar]

One was transported via coastguard to a hospital.  : like this guy had a choice in the proceedings.

The other obviously landed on the wrong side of the river after the accident, I guess that immediately makes him a criminal first and someone who needs help somewhere after mugshots and fingerprints.


Border Guard- You there, halt or i'll shoot.
Canadian - Uggh i had a sea-doo accident
Border Guard- Sure you did, now bend over and prepare for a cavity search.
Canadian- Uhggg i knew i shoulda been born a Mexican.

...and the tidbit of noteworthy text in the article

"According to Kerr, Jason had asked and obtained permission from the U.S. Border Patrol to ride his Sea-Doo back and forth across the unseen border that runs down the middle of the Niagara River. "

Cheers.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Only one part of that is even remotely " noteworthy".....According to Kerr,

One day, when you have someone else's personal safety in your hands/actions, you may understand.

 

[The Bread Guy]

"According to Kerr, Jason had asked and obtained permission from the U.S. Border Patrol to ride his Sea-Doo back and forth across the unseen border that runs down the middle of the Niagara River. "

I stand to be corrected, but permission to go back and forth and be on the water is NOT the same as permission to land/come ashore.

Nope, ...its policy and anyone boating/swimming on any of the Great Lake waters should know this.

Not to mention the Boundary Waters connecting Ontario and Minnesota....

If all this person says is true then they will walk......

Exactly right - this is where one hopes, if all as reported is indeed the case, the judge will take that into account.  From the same article:

....The two men will attend a closed hearing before an immigration judge today. It's expected, they'll either be issued a removal order and deported back to Canada or the judge may dismiss the charges against them.  If a removal order is issued, the two will need to go through an extensive application process in order to return to the U.S. ....

If all is as presented, I think it would be a shame to go the removal order route, given the extra process needed to re-enter.  Then again, if these guys have been naughty in the US in the past, and it now bites them on the south end of them being northbound, it's their fault if it goes the hard way.

 

[Snafu-Bar]

For future reference, I guess calling ahead to the US border patrol and getting permission to have an accident and wash ashore would be better than asking for permission to play in the water.  ;D

Cheers.

 

[Good2Golf]

As others have noted, when you are operating  and crossing maritime borders you should always check with both Border services to see what requirements exist for landing and return.  The accident is a complete red herring!  Say the guys weren't in an accident, but had gone over and stopped on the US shore then come back.  I'm sure there are people here who would complain if CBSA stopped the individuals and forced them to prove Citizenship, etc... yet that is exactly what they would be required to do if so asked.  Furthermore, I would have like to have been present to hear the interaction of the individuals...I would think that folks who were reasonably respectful of the authorities might have been returned to the Canadian shore without further incident.  There is something missing from the reporting...

G2G

 

[J.J]

Furthermore, I would have like to have been present to hear the interaction of the individuals...I would think that folks who were reasonably respectful of the authorities might have been returned to the Canadian shore without further incident.  There is something missing from the reporting...

DING DING DING...give the gentleman a prize! 

Accidents or mechanical failures happen everyday on the water...do they go to jail. No...Law Enforcement Agencies that work the border regions would tow/assist and facilitate a legitimately stranded boater. There may be intelligence information saying these guys are up to no good, they could have been observed doing something illegal or they could have been warned up-teem times.
I doubt (I do have knowledge in this stuff), that this is the whole story, there is more to it....

 

[Neill McKay]

I wonder if a recreational boater sailing in a border area (and having no plan to land in the other country) could claim the right of innocent passage?